C-IPM publishes strategic research agenda for IPM

15, 2016

A strategic research agenda for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Europe has been prepared by Coordinated Integrated Pest Management (C-IPM), the European Research Area Network (ERA-Net) seeking to align national research programmes on IPM in Europe.

The
C-IPM website reports that the strategic research agenda provides recommendations regarding future European and national IPM research challenges and on how to enhance the implementation of IPM for sustainable crop production. The document is intended for researchers, policy makers and all stakeholders involved in plant protection.

It is based on the results of previous initiatives from the Standing Committee of Agricultural Research Collaborative Working Group on IPM (SCAR CWG). C-IPM has mapped national research needs and priorities and held workshops on national research programmes and infrastructures. The results of these efforts have been used to elaborate and complement the SCAR report in order to prepare the C-IPM strategic research agenda.

The overall objective of the strategic research agenda is to describe short, medium and long-term priorities for IPM research. The aim is to identify gaps and enable enhanced implementation of IPM in Europe. The short-term agenda seeks to create a forum for exchange and identification of IPM research and development priorities, connect existing initiatives and coordinate joint transnational research calls.

The strategic research agenda will lay the groundwork for the implementation of joint transnational research. In this context, the agenda has the following specific objectives:

Support network IPM-related research and create synergies based on a status quo survey of existing research activities on IPM within the European Union

Identify overlaps and gaps to avoid duplications as well as opportunities and complementarities for improved transnational coordination and joint initiatives on research

Enhance pre-existing and establish new linkages between research programmes and initiatives towards coordination of IPM research and development in Europe

Feed emerging research demands to meet these challenges into the Horizon 2020 framework programme

Identify opportunities and mechanisms for knowledge transfer and sharing and training and dissemination of information of IPM research

Four key strategies to overcome major challenges have been identified:

Focus on multidisciplinary research

Changes in paradigm

Strengthen infrastructure and knowledge exchange

Develop alternatives to pesticides

The most important topics, identified by the C-IPM partners, have been categorised in four core themes. Each core theme includes a number of topics that reflect the current priorities and future research needs of the partners and consequently represent short to mid-term IPM priorities. The four core themes are: